Elections in Thailand ( th, การเลือกตั้งในประเทศไทย) refers to the democratic process in which some parts of the
Government of Thailand
The Government of Thailand, or formally the Royal Thai Government ( Abrv: RTG; th, รัฐบาลไทย, , ), is the unitary government of the Kingdom of Thailand. The country emerged as a modern nation state after the foundation of ...
is selected. These include the
House of Representatives of Thailand
The House of Representatives ( th, สภาผู้แทนราษฎร; ; ) is the lower house of the National Assembly of Thailand, the legislative branch of the Thai government. The system of government of Thailand is that of a constitu ...
, (which combines with the appointed
Senate of Thailand
The Senate of Thailand ( th, วุฒิสภา, , ; formerly known as Phruetthasapha ( th, พฤฒสภา, , ) is the upper house of the National Assembly of Thailand, Thailand's legislative branch. In accordance with the 2017 Constitu ...
to create the
National Assembly of Thailand
The National Assembly of Thailand ( Abrv: NAT; th, รัฐสภา, , ) is the bicameral legislative branch of the government of Thailand. It convenes in the Sappaya-Sapasathan, Dusit District, Bangkok.
The National Assembly was establishe ...
),
local Administrations,
Governorship of Bangkok and national
referendum
A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
s.
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
has so far had 28 general elections since 1933; the
last election was in 2019. Voting in elections in Thailand is
compulsory
Compulsion may refer to:
* Compulsive behavior, a psychological condition in which a person does a behavior compulsively, having an overwhelming feeling that they must do so.
* Obsessive–compulsive disorder, a mental disorder characterized by i ...
. All elections in Thailand are regulated by the
Election Commission of Thailand
The Election Commission ( th, คณะกรรมการการเลือกตั้ง, ) is an independent government agency and the sole election management body of Thailand. It oversees government elections (parliamentary elections ...
.
Suffrage
Elections are held under universal suffrage in accordance with the
2007 Constitution; however, certain restrictions apply:
*The voter must be a national of Thailand; if not by birth, then by being a citizen for 5 years.
*They must be over 18 years old the year before the year the election is held.
*The voter must have also registered ninety days before the election at his constituency.
*Those barred from voting in House elections are: members of the
sangha
Sangha is a Sanskrit word used in many Indian languages, including Pali meaning "association", "assembly", "company" or "community"; Sangha is often used as a surname across these languages. It was historically used in a political context t ...
or
clergy
Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...
, those suspended from the privilege (for various reasons), detainees under legal or court orders, and people of unsound mind or of mental infirmity.
Regarding universal suffrage, Thailand (and Siam) has given women right to vote in national election since 1932, and in village election since 1897, which could make Thailand the second country in the world to do so.
Elections
House of Representatives
The
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
consists of 500 members, of which 350 are directly elected through the
first past the post
In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast their ...
system in which each member represents one "constituency". The other 150 is elected through
party list
An electoral list is a grouping of candidates for election, usually found in proportional or mixed electoral systems, but also in some plurality electoral systems. An electoral list can be registered by a political party (a party list) or can ...
s given to the
election commission by the
political parties
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or pol ...
before election day. In the current system as laid out by the 2017 constitution, known as "mixed member apportionment (MMA)", the voter casts a single vote for a constituency
MP, which is then also used in the calculation of the party list seats. This differs from the previous 2007 constitution, where the vote for constituency MP and party list MP were separate.
Special elections can be called if the candidate fail to pass the commission's standards (known as yellow-cards) or if a vacancy occurs. The commission also have the authority to annul or ban candidates based on their standards (red-cards). The last election for the House occurred in 2019, with a special election being held in Chiang Mai after the winning candidate was disqualified. The House has a term of four years but may be dissolved before that time.
Senate
The current 250 senators of the
Senate of Thailand
The Senate of Thailand ( th, วุฒิสภา, , ; formerly known as Phruetthasapha ( th, พฤฒสภา, , ) is the upper house of the National Assembly of Thailand, Thailand's legislative branch. In accordance with the 2017 Constitu ...
were not elected, but were appointed by the
National Council for Peace and Order
The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO; th, คณะรักษาความสงบแห่งชาติ; ; abbreviated ( th, คสช.; )) was the military junta that ruled Thailand between its 2014 Thai coup d'état on 22 M ...
, the military junta which ruled Thailand from 2014 to the 2019 general election. The 2017 constitution does not include elections for the Senate.
In the previous 2007 constitution, the Senate was composed of 150 members. Of these, 76 were directly elected, while 74 members were appointed. Of the elected members, 75 came from the
Provinces of Thailand
The provinces of Thailand are part of the government of Thailand that is divided into 76 provinces ( th, จังหวัด, , ) proper and one special administrative area ( th, เขตปกครองส่วนท้องถิ่น ...
, and one from the
Bangkok Metropolitan Area
The Bangkok Metropolitan Region (BMR) ( th, กรุงเทพมหานครและปริมณฑล; ; ), may refer to a government-defined "political definition" of the urban region surrounding the metropolis of Bangkok, or the built ...
. The election was based on the
first past the post
In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast their ...
system. The
last election for the Senate occurred in 2014.
The Senate is a non-partisan chamber and therefore candidates cannot be a member of a political party. Terms are fixed at six years.
Local Administration
There are three different levels of municipalities ( th, เทศบาล), which all elect their own municipal council and mayor. The municipalities are split into constituencies, which each elect six councillors. The number of constituencies depends on the municipal level.
*
thesaban nakhon
Thesaban ( th, เทศบาล, , ) are the municipalities of Thailand. There are three levels of municipalities: city, town, and sub-district. Bangkok and Pattaya are special municipal entities not included in the ''thesaban'' system.
The mu ...
(city): 4 constituencies, 24 councillors.
*
thesaban mueang
Thesaban ( th, เทศบาล, , ) are the municipalities of Thailand. There are three levels of municipalities: city, town, and sub-district. Bangkok and Pattaya are special municipal entities not included in the ''thesaban'' system.
The mu ...
(town): 3 constituencies, 18 councillors.
*
thesaban tambon
Thesaban ( th, เทศบาล, , ) are the municipalities of Thailand. There are three levels of municipalities: city, town, and sub-district. Bangkok and Pattaya are special municipal entities not included in the ''thesaban'' system.
The mu ...
(subdistrict municipality): 2 constituencies, 12 councillors.
The
Tambon Administrative Organization
''Tambon'' ( th, ตำบล, ) is a local governmental unit in Thailand. Below district (''amphoe'') and province ('' changwat''), they form the third administrative subdivision level. there were 7,255 tambons, not including the 180 ''khwaeng' ...
s, a local government similar to the municipalities, also has an elected council and mayor. Every administrative village within the TAO sends two councillors to the council, only if there are less than three villages the number of councillors per villages is increased to reach the minimum size of six councillors.
Pattaya
Pattaya ( th, พัทยา, , ) is a city in Thailand. It is on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand, about southeast of Bangkok, within, but not part of, Bang Lamung district in the province of Chonburi province, Chonburi. Pattaya City ( ...
as a special administrative area has a council with 24 seats and an elected mayor, same as a city.
Additionally, every province has a province-wide local government named
Provincial Administrative Organization with an elected council and chairman. The size of the council depends on the population of the province.
For all the local governments, the electoral term is four years. If a councillor positions becomes vacant, a by-election is held in the corresponding constituency, if a mayor position becomes vacant, a new election for a four-year term is held. Thus elections for mayor and council aren't necessarily on the same date.
City of Bangkok
Councils
Bangkok
Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...
is divided into 50 local district councils, one for every district. The size of these councils differ between 7 and 8. Additionally, there are 61 seats in the
Bangkok Metropolitan Council (BMC). The election follow a four-year cycle. The most recent local election was in 2010.
Gubernatorial
The
Governor of Bangkok
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration ( th, กรุงเทพมหานคร; ) (BMA) is the local government of Bangkok (also called ''Krung Thep Maha Nakhon'' in Thai), which includes the capital of the Kingdom of Thailand. The governme ...
is the only elected Governor in the country. The Governor holds a four-year renewable term. The election does not coincide with that of the district councils or the BMC. The most recent election for Governor of Bangkok was in 2022.
Referendums
There has only been two constitutional
referendum
A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
s, in 2007 and 2016.
Issues
There have been many issues especially in recent years concerning elections in Thailand. Accusations of
vote buying Vote buying (also referred to as electoral clientelism and patronage politics) occurs when a political party or candidate distributes money or resources to a voter in an upcoming election with the expectation that the voter votes for the actor handi ...
and blackmail have been most cited. Most accusations leveled concern vote buying, particularly in rural areas where representatives of political parties or district captains are sent out offering up to 2,000 Baht for a vote. Others concern cheating and ballot tampering.
Other issues concern the powers of the
Election Commission, an unelected and unaccountable body of five, which has absolute authority to cancel elections at will. It is also the sole arbiter and interpreter of Thai election laws. It has been incredibly active in the last two general elections in annulling and disqualifying candidates.
Voter turnout
In political science, voter turnout is the participation rate (often defined as those who cast a ballot) of a given election. This can be the percentage of registered voters, eligible voters, or all voting-age people. According to Stanford Unive ...
during elections is not much of a problem in Thailand as voting is compulsory and is one of the responsibilities described in the
Constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When ...
a citizen must exercise. Turnout is however much higher during general elections (85% in 2007, 75% in 2019) than they are for Senate (56% in 2008, 43% in 2014
) or local elections (54% for Bangkok Governor in 2008).
See also
*
Electoral calendar
This national electoral calendar for 2022 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2022 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included.
January
* 16 January: Se ...
*
Electoral system
An electoral system or voting system is a set of rules that determine how elections and Referendum, referendums are conducted and how their results are determined. Electoral systems are used in politics to elect governments, while non-political ...
References
External links
Adam Carr's Election ArchiveThailand Electoral CommissionThailandat the
Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening The Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening (CEPPS) is composed of nonprofit, nonpartisan, nongovernmental organizations dedicated to advancing and supporting democratic practices and institutions around the globe. Established i ...
(CEPPS)
{{Thailand topics